I've heard many people that talk online say the don't read fiction because they don't get much "value" from it. While I disagree with this from the view that you get enjoyment out of fiction in a much more active way than you do from TV, there is so much more to good fiction than simple enjoyment.
Today let's highlight some of the fiction I've read that made me sit back and think about my place in the world as a human.
The Humans by Matt Haig
The Humans drops us into an alien that has just been brought to earth to take over the life of a human who has solved some fancy math problem that humans aren't ready for. His job is to wipe out all traces of the solved problem so that humanity doesn't destroy itself and the universe.
The biggest thing that struck me with this story is the many things we take for granted that the alien sees as astonishing. One big thing that catches our alien off guard is the caring, and emotional harm, that happens in relationships.
Our alien moves from not caring about the family he is dropped into, to giving up much of what he's known to care for them well. I was continually struck by this change and the caring that was shown.
Purchase The Humans on Amazon.
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi
Pet is about a future world where we've 'killed' the monsters of hate and racism. But then people have become complacent because those monsters are gone. This brings a blindness toward the monsters and allows them to come back.
I found strong correlations between the ideas in this book and the rise of [[white supremist]] thought we see now. We thought we had "killed" these movements, only to see them rise again. While I don't think that many of you reading this got complacent about these views, those that run our governments have looked out for themselves and those like them which means the vast majority of the world is now in a state where life isn't working well for them.
Thus they move on to the easy answers about how to 'fix' things and we get our hate groups back. No, they never really went away, but now they're back in public with huge public followings.
We need to give up the belief that capitalism will save us. We have not slain the demons of bad social mobility, in fact, North America (and the US in particular) has one of the worst scores on social mobility in the world.
We relaxed and allowed the demons of social inequality to come back in force.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
This book walks us through all the types of lives one could live. We're dropped in a library, which is merely a representation that suits the main character. This library holds books that represent all the lives one could have lived. Our main character is dying and has an opportunity to try on other lives, and could even stay in one forever if they choose.
It's a strong book that asks us to question all the regrets we may have about making different decisions. Maybe things wouldn't have turned out as well as we like to dream. Maybe we wouldn't have been any happier than we are now if we made different decisions.
Maybe you're already living your best life.
Purchase The Midnight Library on Amazon.
The Final Empire, The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
"A Man is what he has passion about," Breeze said. "I've found that if you give up what you want most for what you think you should want more, you'll just end up miserable."
How often do you conform to some high-minded ideal of what you should be? Is it really you or just the way you want others to view you.
While sometimes it's good to act the part, you need to be true to yourself. Don't just follow what you think others want or the way you think you should be. This is one of the reasons I've stopped worrying about how much I read. It was becoming a performance.
Purchase The Final Empire on Amazon.
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
While Brandon Sanderson's books are long, there is much to admire about his characters. In particular, I'll highlight this passage from The Stormlight Archive book 4, Oathbringer.
"I will take responsibility for what I have done," Dalinar whispered. "If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man.'' Loc 22915
We're all going to make mistakes, but will we learn from them? Throughout this book we see drug addicts being heroes, and then addicts again. We see the main characters deal with depression and triumph, and they get depressed again. Heroes are not infallible, they make mistakes and then attempt to do better.
It's something we should all aspire to.
Purchase Oathbringer on Amazon.
It's all about looks
The more I think about those who say they get nothing of value from fiction the more I feel that it's performative.
That they have some misguided idea that they look smarter if they read "thinking" books.
Clearly, this is wrong. Look above at the things fiction has made me think about. The things that I've questioned about human existence and how I travel around as a human. There are even some studies1 that show reading fiction increases your cognitive empathy2, though it's not as clear cut as some popular writing would have you believe3.
If you're one of those people that says fiction is a waste of time, I'd encourage you to dig a bit deeper. There is much good in fiction reading. You're not smarter or better because you only read non-fiction, you're just a different type of reader. Maybe mix in some fiction every fourth or fifth book you read?
- This study says that the perspective taking in fiction helps increase cognitive empathy. I disagree with the assessment that non-fiction doesn't have stories that draw us in though. Biographies do this and the harm caused by redlining stood out to me when I read The Color of Law. I was drawn into the injustice done to African Americans and their stories. I've talked about The Color of Law here and here. Get the book. ↩
- This study talks about the difference between cognitive empathy and affective empathy and how different mediums of consumption may help increase different aspects of empathy. ↩
- The piece in The Atlantic talks about the difference between empathy and coginitive empathy. Reading has more to do with cognitive empathy than empathy, and it may be that those who have more empathy just happen to read more fiction. ↩